


Day 16: Catching Cold from Being Outside ft. Amedot

by Pippiuscattius



Series: Pippi's Holiday Shipping Challenge [16]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 25 Day Holiday OTP Challenge, And Peridot is a frozen little green bean, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cold, Cold Weather, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, In which Amethyst is a warm beanbag, Sickfic, Sleepy Cuddles, amedot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 08:20:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13072926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippiuscattius/pseuds/Pippiuscattius
Summary: Peridot loves the snow, but she's spent far too much time indulging in it. When Amethyst drops by for a visit and discovers that Peridot appears to somehow be coming down with a cold, she is insistent on doing whatever she can to care for her and bring her back to health.(Part of my 25 Day Holiday OTP challenge. Will feature multiple ships from multiple fandoms. These will all be quickly-written, silly drabbles so please don't judge them too harshly. UwU)





	Day 16: Catching Cold from Being Outside ft. Amedot

**Author's Note:**

> So I know gems don't actually get sick the way humans do, but what I put in this story was kinda like a specific kind of illness attributed to some types of gems, so just roll with it. Think of it like the gem version of catching a cold, only potentially far more deadly in the wrong circumstances. No worries though, there's no danger in here!! Just Amethyst fretting over her favorite clod.
> 
> This story contains a brief reference to my last entry in this challenge, but it doesn't particularly tie into the plot so no worries about that.

Peridot preferred to hold herself with some semblance of dignity. Admittedly, that had been challenging since directly defying Yellow Diamond and becoming a rebel against Homeworld, but it counted that she still tried her best.

Besides, she doubted she would take back her rebellion for anything at this point. Earth was an amazing planet the likes of which she’d never seen before. One of its most impressive and volatile features was its climate, which could change at the drop of a…what did humans call those things on top of their heads? Hats?

Anyways, earth’s weather changed drastically and regularly. That fact made adapting to life on earth all the more difficult. Just when Peridot thought she’d gotten used to one type of weather, another would come along and turn her perceptions upside down. Rain had been first, and she’d adjusted to that a long time ago since Steven had first introduced her to it; at least until she discovered the terrifying concept of thunderstorms later on. Heat waves were hard and she found herself retreating within her and Lapis’ barn whenever they hit. Windy days were disorienting and threw her off balance (which wouldn’t have happened if she still had her limb enhancers, grumble, grumble).

But there was one kind of weather Peridot found that she really enjoyed from the get-go. When the earth season “winter” arrived, it dumped piles and piles of cold, white ice crystals all over every surface it could reach. The barn’s roof was covered in it, as was the surrounding yard and every tree and plant as far as the eye could see.

If Peridot had thought rain was amazing, that was _nothing_ compared to snow.

The quirky green gem had spent an entire day and night romping about in the snow, learning how it felt, how to manipulate it, and how to enjoy it. Lapis had found the mere concept of snow disturbing and had taken to hiding away in the barn’s hayloft and bundling herself in every blanket she could scrounge up from their gathered supplies. Peridot was content to leave her be; though it seemed a shame not to enjoy the snow, she’d long since learned that Lapis couldn’t be forced into anything.

It was during her second day out in the snow that a downside to the weather finally presented itself. Peridot wasn’t sure what was happening at first; her gem felt constricted, like there was some kind of pressure on it. Worse than that was the cold, which was amplified and creeping into every inch of her physical form. The longer she stayed out in the snow, the worse it got, but she couldn’t bring herself to go indoors. Who knew how long it would be until she had another chance like this? Snow seemed to be a rare, seasonal occurrence, and she couldn’t waste any time while it was here.

It was when Amethyst dropped in for her weekly visit that Peridot was torn away from her favorite climate phenomenon. Once a week, one of the crystal gems would visit the barn to check in on Peridot and Lapis to ensure they were doing alright. More often than not, Amethyst was the one who volunteered for the trip, and Peridot couldn’t be happier about that. She respected Amethyst and got along with her better than any other crystal gem; not to mention, she was always up for doing something fun while she was there.

“S’up, Peri?” Amethyst greeted as she ascended the hill leading up to the barnyard.

Peridot spun around when she heard Amethyst’s voice. “A-Amethyst!” she called excitedly, grimacing in frustration at the way her mouth wouldn’t stop shivering and choking her words. “Over he-here! I-it’s snowing!”

“Yeah, it sure is,” Amethyst agreed with a chuckle, approaching her and holding out a hand to feel the snowflakes. “Man, you got a lot of snow up here! We got just enough for a snowball fight down on the beach the other day. Garnet unfused partway through and it was _totally_ unfair…”

The quartz gem trailed off when she noticed that Peridot was violently shivering from head to toe. She looked to be an even paler green than normal, and most worrying of all, her gem was…somehow smaller? That was impossible!

“Whoa, uh, Peri, you feelin’ alright?” Amethyst checked, looking into her eyes with worry. “You’re not lookin’ too hot.”

“I f-feel rather co-cold, right now-w, actual-lly,” Peridot chattered out, wrapping her arms around her torso.

Eyes widening with worry, Amethyst put a hand against Peridot’s cheek, trying to gauge her temperature. Her hand recoiled and shrank away. Peridot’s physical form felt like an ice cube.

“Peri, girl, you need to get inside,” Amethyst insisted.

“B-b-but, the snow!” Peridot argued. “I can’t le-leave the sno-ow!”

Unimpressed by her objection, Amethyst replied, “Uh, yeah you can. You’re gonna catch a cold or something out here!”

Puzzled, Peridot wondered, “H-how does one…c-capture a-a temperatu-ure?”

Growing frustrated, Amethyst clarified, “No, I mean you’re gonna get sick!”

“G-gems don’t get si-sick,” Peridot stubbornly protested, crossing her arms tighter around herself to no avail.

“Yeah, but…” Amethyst eyed Peridot up and down, noting that her trembling was getting worse. “You sure look like you are.”

Standing and waiting for Peridot to make a move, Amethyst heaved a sigh when she remained still. “C’mon, you’re getting back into the barn. Don’t you wanna warm up?”

Looking towards the ground, Peridot admitted, “Y-yeah, I do.”

“Then get movin’! I’ll come with you, someone’s gotta look after you.”

Peridot stared down at herself. “I-I…can’t. M-my physical form se-seems to be…fr-frozen.”

Taking a deep breath of the stinging, frozen air, Amethyst braced herself. Time to put all that quartz soldier strength to good use.

Hoisting Peridot up off the ground and carrying her overhead, Amethyst waddled towards the barn. The doors opened with a kick from her foot, and immediately once she’d set the frozen Peridot down on the wooden floor, she forced the doors shut behind her.

Poor Peridot was still shivering all over, stiff as a board and propped up against one of the support beams. Amethyst truly felt pity for her, and somewhere mingled amongst that was a protectiveness for the gem she hadn’t felt so intensely before.

“Where do ya keep the blankets around this place?” Amethyst asked, rummaging through the collection of trash and knick-knacks that had accumulated in the barn.

“L-lapis took them,” Peridot answered. “Sh-she said not to ask f-for them back-k.”

Rolling her eyes and abandoning her search efforts, Amethyst crouched down in front of Peridot. “Can you move yet?”

Twitching her numb limbs, Peridot sheepishly replied, “I d-don’t think so-o.”

Already resigned to having to carry her again, Amethyst scooped Peridot up in her arms bridal-style. Peridot found herself instinctively pressing closer to Amethyst’s physical form as they bobbed along. Amethyst was wonderfully warm and cushy to lay against, and she mourned the loss of that when she was set down in a pile of hay.

Flinching as the sharp straws poked at her body, Peridot forced herself to nestle down as far into the stack as she could. It was all she could do to try and regain some of that glorious heat she’d felt from Amethyst earlier.

“This hay is itchy,” Peridot complained, shifting uncomfortably.

“You’re tough though,” Amethyst dismissed. “You can handle it.” She playfully gave Peridot’s shoulder a light punch, but pulled back immediately when Peridot flinched.

“Agh!” Peridot cried, clutching at the raw spot Amethyst had hit. “Th-that hurt!”

Covering her mouth with her hand, Amethyst raced to apologize. “Oh gosh, Peri, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t think it’d…”

“It’s okay,” Peridot hurriedly dismissed. “N-normally, I could take stuff like this-s, but right now I feel re-really…” Realization settled onto her pale features. “I f-feel… _brittle_.”

Thick silence hung in the air as Peridot connected the dots. She groaned when they formed a full pattern. “Oh, I know what’s wrong with me…”

“What? What’s wrong?” Amethyst clambered to hear the reason for Peridot’s affliction.

“My su-superiors warned me about this c-countless times, and yet-t I let it happen,” Peridot scolded herself. “Why, if I was back on Ho-Homeworld, who knows how this neg-gligence would be punished! I can’t be-believe I lost track of the ti-time!”

“What’s _wrong_ , Peridot?” Amethyst demanded, facing the other gem squarely.

Swallowing and staring back nervously, Peridot explained, “Y-you see, Peridots are v-very sensitive to temperat-ture, especially the co-cold. S-so when we get too cold f-for too long, our gems sh-shrink and we turn…br-brittle and easy to shatter-r.” She looked away in shame. “Th-that’s why Peridots are never assigned-d to missions on cold plane-ets.”

Eyes rising towards Peridot’s gem, Amethyst’s brow furrowed in extra worry. Peridot’s gem still looked smaller than usual, far more compressed than it should be.

“Are you…gonna be okay?” Amethyst hesitantly asked, horrified at the thought that this may cause irreversible damage to her friend.

“O-once I’m warmer, yes-s,” Peridot affirmed. “But ri-right now I’m v-vulnerable to attackers.” Her eyes darted around the interior of the barn with trained alertness.

Huffing a relieved laugh, Amethyst promised, “There aren’t any attackers here, Peri. Just me.” Giving the room one last pointless scan, she sighed regretfully. “Dunno what I can do for you without any blankets, though.”

“Y-you could be my-y blanket,” Peridot suggested. She shrank away when Amethyst abruptly faced her again, genuine surprise written on her features. “Y-you felt awful-lly warm,” she elaborated.

“Um…” Amethyst hated the purple blush that was rising over her face. “You mean like…you want _me_ to warm you up by myself?”

“I-if you don’t m-mind,” Peridot was scrambling to remedy the situation, recognizing that she’d made Amethyst uncomfortable. “You re-really don’t ha-have to, I was just-t-”

“No, you’re…you’re right,” Amethyst interrupted. “That’s about all we’ve got right now. Here, scooch over.”

Peridot did scooch over, having regained just enough feeling in her limbs to shuffle aside. Forcing down her nervousness, Amethyst crawled into the haybale and extended an arm towards Peridot. The grateful brittle gem hurriedly rolled into the curve of Amethyst’s arm, intuitively nestling closer towards the heat radiating from Amethyst’s torso. Curling around the pleasantly warm quartz, Peridot could already feel the chills beginning to dissipate from her form.

“H-how do you stay so warm?” Peridot wondered, burying her frozen gem in Amethyst’s chest.

Trying very hard not to let her fluster show, Amethyst offhandedly replied, “Guess Amethysts aren’t affected by cold.”

“In any case, th-thank you for sharing your warmth with me,” Peridot expressed her genuine gratitude, sighing as she felt that awful pressure on her gem begin to lessen.

Not sure what else to say and blatantly ignoring the tenderness of the moment, Amethyst settled on commenting, “Ugh, you were right. This hay is super itchy.”

“You’re tough,” Peridot slurred out, drowsiness overtaking her. “You can handle it…”

Although gems normally didn’t sleep, Peridot was in the perfect conditions for such. Amethyst was pleased to discover that she was a quiet sleeper, largely because it meant she could catch a few z’s too.

Later that night, Lapis descended from the hayloft and encountered the pair of slumbering intertwined gems. Both looked more at peace than she’d seen them for a while.

Smirking to herself and selecting one of the numerous blankets she’d brought back down, she draped the fuzzy cloth around Amethyst and Peridot, leaving them to their shared sleep.

_Thus ends the sixteenth day of Christmas._

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: I actually did research into real-life gems for inspiration on this one. Turns out that Peridots really are sensitive to climate changes and are supposed to kept away from extreme temperatures for the same reasons as in the story. Hooray for real-world implications applied to fictional characters! :D


End file.
